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Check out what’s been happening in the cabinet industry the last few weeks from the Kitchen Cabinet Manufacturers Association:

CHINA SUSPENDS WTO LAWSUIT

China has suspended its World Trade Organization (WTO) panel case against the European Union where it sought status as a free market economy. This means that both the EU and U.S. can continue to treat China as a non-market economy in antidumping cases.

In May OSHA released a request for information seeking input to modernize its lockout/tagout (LO/TO) standard, which governs manufacturers' shop floors to ensure that machines are properly shut off during maintenance and repairs. Today, with technological advancements, manufacturers can safely repair machinery without undertaking the full lockout/tagout procedures. However, the outdated OSHA standard, doesn’t account for safety advancements.

According to the 2019 U.S. Houzz & Home Study, the financial investment for a kitchen renovation increased 27% to $14,000 last year. The study surveyed 142,000 homeowners about their home renovations in 2018 and plans for 2019. More results include:

Gen Z'ers have entered the market at 0.3%

Half of the largest 50 metropolitan areas actually saw a decrease in median spend on 2018 renovations

A new survey from Sikich shows the rate of data breaches among manufacturers continues to rise - 50% of respondents reported being a victim of at least one data breach in the last 12 months. Despite these statistics, a majority of companies still say they are extremely or very confident in their ability to prevent or minimize the impact of data breaches.

“Cybercriminals have moved on from focusing primarily on organizations rich in sensitive personal data, such as financial or health care institutions,” said Brad Lutgen, partner-in-charge of Sikich’s cybersecurity practice. “Instead, they target any organization with IT weaknesses and attempt to turn a profit through ransomware and other cyberextortion techniques."

ECONOMIC UPDATE

Four out of five manufacturers are either somewhat or very optimistic about their own company's outlook.